Skip to main content

tv   Martin Bashir  MSNBC  March 22, 2013 1:00pm-2:00pm PDT

1:00 pm
relationship while continuing to try to screw us over. while you're publicly admitting that your party doesn't care enough about black america then it's time for a new black friend. enter dr. black carson who has been embraced because he's smart and helpful in assuaging their guilt. carson say bootstraps kind of guy, talking about like he built his kid from a poor kid to a pediatric neurosurgeon all by himself. he must have gotten government-backed school loans, former public assistance and let's not derail the good i built it without help story. carson say brilliant medical thinker, but he has intellectual tumors in his mind like a flat tax which is regressive and ignorant wealth inexquality where the bottom 60% own 2.3%. i doubt jesus would tax them equally just as i doubt the gop would entertain a none-white politician with unserious ideas, but carson is enjoying the gop's
1:01 pm
version of affirmative action where black faces that can spit conservative game get raced to the front of the line because then people get to put a bumper sticker on their cars saying how can i be racist? i would have voted for cars be on which would fit nicely over the bumper sticker that said how can i be racist? i would have voted for cain. no matter how far from the political system they emerge from and no matter how unserious their ideas are because it's all make believe. none of them will ever get a nomination for the presidency just as the gop will never get black votes because the only thing they care about is winning and want the check or social needs of black people, but at the same time, imagine away, you guys. say you magically put me in the white house, but my brothers no magic is required to accomplish that. as soon as the sequester ends, you can take a white house tour. and now for a man who is giving white house tours on the weekend
1:02 pm
for free, martin bashir. >> thank you so much, toure and good afternoon, it's friday, march 22nd and it's not too late. pick up your phone and call congress now or wayne lapierre will win. ♪ ♪ we are watching an orj of gun violence. >> two brutal murders in colorado. >> they call us craze. >> there are current laws at the state and national level are swiss cheese. >> you just shoot. >> weir trying to keep guns out of the hands of people who committed murder. >> they call us craze. >> that male marine had first shot and killed the woman and then turned the gun on himself. >> think about newtown. think about newtown. >> they call us crazy? >> literally, kids went and shot her baby through the head. shot that baby dead. >> and they say we're crazy? >> does anybody need a hundred-round drum of ammunition. does anybody need that other than the military or licensed
1:03 pm
police? >> no. >> dragged out of a city bus and shot to death in front of witnesses. >> three people are dead after a late-night shooting. another day, another shooting. >> orgy of gun violence. they call me crazy. ♪ ♪ ♪ we are watching developing stories on multiple fronts this afternoon. the president is continuing his middle east trip meeting with king abdullah in jordan, a close ally, facing a massive influx of refugees from the escalating conflict in syria. the joint press conference today in amman the president said the united states is carefully considering its options. >> it's trajic and heartbreaking and the sight of children and women being slaughtered that we've seen so much, i think has to compel all of us to say what
1:04 pm
more can we do. >> we'll bring you much more from the middle east trip just ahead, but the president's words can apply to another situation here at home. so we begin with the fight to keep up the pressure for gun safety legislation here at home, and i've realized that we've spent far too much time on this broadcast mocking gun lobbyist and chief wayne lapierre as crazy when, in fact, he is crazy, but he's crazy like a fox because on thursday while vice president joe biden was giving a news conference with newtown victims' saying this -- >> tell me that you can't take off the street these weapons of war? for all those who say we shouldn't or couldn't ban high-capacity magazines, i just ask them one question. think about newtown. >> while the president was
1:05 pm
re-tweeting a moving image from yoko ono a photo of john lennon's bloody glasses and the text over 1,057,000 people have been killed by guns in the usa since john lennon was shot and killed on december 8, 1980. while that was happening on thursday congress was quietly passing its first gun-related measures since the sandy hook massacre and guess what? they were exactly the ones that the nra wanted. oh, yes. they came quietly,a tached to the continuing resolution that passed thursday to prevent a government shutdown and fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. six nra-backed measures to limit how federal agencies deal with guns. among them, preventing the department of justice from requiring gun owners to conduct an inventory to see if guns are
1:06 pm
lost or stolen. prohibiting data from criminal traces on guns, from being used in research to draw conclusions about firearms-related crime. the provisions have been in place for years, but now in this bill they've been made permanent. that's right. thus far, those are the only concrete gun measures that congress has enacted since 20 first grade children were gunned down with a military-style weapon in their classroom at sandy hook elementary school. well done the nra. even the murder of children won't move them. let's get right to our panel. in washington, former house judiciary council and democratic strategist julian epistein and in tampa florida, professor james peterson, contributor for us and also for the grillo.com. it is easy to vilify the nra for their disinterest in gun
1:07 pm
violence and their absolute commitment to selling more guns to more people, but this organization is as devious, as sly, as cunning and as calculated as any lobby we've ever seen, isn't it? there's no question about that, martin and your outrage is warranted and i echo it here, but there are two things i want folks to consider. on the one hand, yes, the nra is being very sneaky and very sinister by attaching these measures essentially to a bill that has to go through especially for those folks who are democrats. >> otherwise they'd be shutting down the government. >> you're shutting down the government so it's very sinister and very cal qulative and also for the american people, this is why we're disenchanted with government. it's broken and it doesn't work and when we're having a public discourse about how to get guns under control and how to get common sense gun safety into our
1:08 pm
lives. for them to be able to do this and this shows us that the process is broken and this is why people feel disconnected and apathetic to the processes related to legislation because it seems so unfair and so disconnected from what we need right now that it just -- it just throws people sort of out of the process and out of the game. >> but julian, we are talking about the first gun regulations to pass since those 20 infants were shot to pieces by military weapons and this is what we get? writers in a continuing resolution bill that prevents gun dealers from keeping proper inventory and the axe tf prevented from drawing any aims from firearms that would help us understand gun crime. that's what we get? >> this is the ultimate insult to the memory of not just the victims in newtown, but the thousands of victims that -- tens of thousands that we have every year in this country. for the last 20 years, martin, the people who are, i think, the most expert when it comes to the issues of crime, the police and
1:09 pm
and -- and law enforcement officials have been saying to congress, if you want to take the nra at its word that we want to keep guns out of the hands of criminal, we have to prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals. the nra has consistently fought that. it isn't just the inventory issue and it is audits of gun dealers and it is records of gun sales and it's tracing of bullets. there are a -- there's about a dozen things that law enforcement said, if we have the simple measures in the books it would allow us to trace criminals when the use of guns in the commission of a crime instantly, but what the nra has done, they've made it very, very difficult for law enforcement to go after people who use guns in the commission of crime. the fact that congress would pass shows you, as i said the other day, that congress is a lagging indicator, not a lead indicator of public opinion and it will take at the end of the day, we have to remember at the end of the process in terms of
1:10 pm
these gun regulations and it is going to take many members of congress losing elections before people in washington will realize that the politics on this thing have changed. the ground is shifting underneath the politicians right now. they don't see it, but the ground is shifting and as i say, it's going to have to take a concerted effort for many of these elected officials to lose office before they realize the public wants something very serious out of this. >> as i just said, julian. we put the phone number for congress and we invite members of the public, please do call your congressional members. just today weave seen a slew of gun-related headlines. three dead at quantico marine base. a 13 month old baby shot in the head in her stroller. a drunk teenage boy shot dead after entering the wrong home by mistake and yet what's happening? the people who say more gun, fewer laws, they are the ones today who appear to be winning
1:11 pm
this argument. the thing is that you have to understand -- i hope people can appreciate this and this is the disenchantment piece, the nra for the times they want to out to members is a small group of folks with a lot of power in terms of legislative strategy and they stick to this message and they make the shady deals that people don't pay too much attention to and that's why we're stuck with this laissez-faire system come when it comes to common sense and gun safety. julian is right. this is the beginning of the first battle. this is not the end of the war. people need to stay engaged and i kind of feel dubious about sort of taking the toll and keeping count on all of these awful gun crimes, but we have to keep this discourse at the forefront of the american imagination so that we can continue to apply populous pressure on these very small and powerful interest groups that have the tricks and measures that people aren't aware of and don't pay much attention to, and our government is broken.
1:12 pm
the one way to fix it is for us to pay attention to it and the only way to have common sense gun safety is to understand that the nra is not about the second amendment and the nra is a lobby for gun manufacturers and gun dealers. that's who they represent and they do that effectively and strategically. understand they're not quite as powerful and they're smart and strategic and pay attention and apply pressure. we have a long way to go and hopefully we'll win the war in the end. >> finally, and briefly to you, julian. give us a reason to be optimism that some reasonable legislation is going come, because if this is the first thing that happens after those 20 children were murdered, i have to assume that as we get further away from the events on that day in december there's going to be even less of an attitude or aptitude to do anything. >> we're seeing leadership from the president and leadership
1:13 pm
from the vice president. i think the policy on gun regulations are very good and things have changed since a decade ago. we've seen leadership from shows like this and from the news media. again, as i say, we are looking at a house that is jerry handered to be far more than the general public. a senate made up of older white men and there are huge shifts going on in this country right now and the political establishment in washington doesn't quite understand that and they will over time and it will take a number to lose the elections, but the public is with us on this. the public wants not just background checks by 90%. the public wants assault weapons bans and other common sense regulations and the numbers are indisputable even in red states where i remember president obama saying to me in the oval office after columbine, he was willing to go into places like new hampshire because once you make the argument that things like assault weapons mean that innocent people are more likely to be killed and protected that even people in red states will go look.
1:14 pm
>> thank you both. and a programming note, david gregory will talk exclusively with new york city mayor michael bloomberg and the nra's wayne lapierre this southbound on "meet the press." next, with the president in the region a key senator calls for u.s. intervention in syria. stay with us. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understand. our financial advice is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. life brings obstacles. usaa brings retirement advice. [ bop ] [ bop ] [ bop ] you can do that all you want, i don't like v8 juice. [ male announcer ] how about v8 v-fusion. a full serving of vegetables, a full serving of fruit. but what you taste is the fruit. so even you... could've had a v8. but what you taste is the fruit. ♪
1:15 pm
♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. are proven to be effective pain relievers. tylenol works by blocking pain signals to your brain. bayer advanced aspirin blocks pain at the site. try the power of bayer advanced aspirin. excited try the power for youyeah.st day? ♪ dad: you'll be fine, ok? girl: ok. dad: you look so pretty. ♪ i'm overprotective. that's why i got a subaru.
1:16 pm
love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. for current and former military members and their families. get advice from the people who share your values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa.
1:17 pm
>> calls for the president to pursue a more aggressive pursuit to the civil war in syria are becoming more bipartisan by the minute. democratic senator carl levin and republican senator john mccain have urged the obama administration to use patriot missiles to degrade the assad regime's air power and the chair and ranking members of the house
1:18 pm
intelligence committee have introduced a bill calling for the administration to arm syrian rebels. asked today about whether the united states would provide a more aggressive military response to the syrian crisis, the president would only say this. >> the united states often finds itself in a situation where if it goes in militarily then it's criticized for going in militarily. and if it doesn't go in militarily then people say why aren't you doing something militarily, and, you know, my response at this stage is to make sure that what we do contributes to bringing an end to the bloodshed as quickly as possible. >> joining me now is nbc's peteral exandriny. >> the president wraps up his four-day visit to the middle east tomorrow. with renewed pressure to handle the crisis in syria, a nation he's not visiting, what is the effect of this trip been on that issue, do you think? >> reporter: well, i think we've got a pretty good sense of it as i was there in the news
1:19 pm
conference a few hours from now between the president and king abdullah of this country, of jordan. the king brought up syria saying that was the first topic of conversation between the two men today as the president, i think, was as blunt in his assessment of the challenges he faces right now considering what's going on in syria, and frankly, in iran when he said the damned if i do, damned if i don't in terms of military action in countries like syria, but it was king abdullah himself who is -- has now said that he is really onboard with what the president is doing right now. he made it very clear that this is a significant challenge for his country and the president saying he would give another $200 million to the jordanians to help deal with the influx of refugees. consider this, 460,000 syrian refugees are now living inside this country. that is 10% of the population. zatari, that is a refugees camp in the north is now the fifth largest city according to the king in this country and he said
1:20 pm
when pressed whether he would allow more refugees into the country. he said the jordanian way is that we will acknowledging that he's onboard with the president even if this continues to be a drawn-out process. >> nbc's peter alexander, thank you so much, pete. for analysis we bring in michael o'hanlon director of research and a senior of foreign policy fellow at the brookings institution. >> thank you. >> that sound that we played for the president's speech today, is what we heard a fair response to the criticism that the president hasn't acted aggressively enough? >> well it's a very fair way of looking at the theory. in theory any military operation sound appealing when you're frustrated by what you're watching and you want to make a difference. the president is certainly right to remember that when you get involved, you know, it's hard to get out and even if you start providing arms to the rebels, you implicate yourself in a way that it mayes in estate escalation. i agree that we should be arming
1:21 pm
the rebels and i consider nato arab league and combined air strikes in support of it, but i understand the president's reluctance so far. i think it's about time, though, we re-assess. you've written extensively on military options for syria. is it your view that the united states should enact an air operation? because one of assad's greatest advantages over the rebels, as you know, is his access to air power. does that not behoove us if we'll do something to act in the air first. >> and i would go so far as to say that not just prevention of syrian air force raid, but actual ground support of syrian rebels is something we ought to consider. in other words, we can consider using aircraft if there's a strong enough consensus by the arab league and nato to bomb certain syrian military targets on the ground. i would consider that in the next few months. what i would rather do is begin to give arms to the rebels.
1:22 pm
send a very clear message to moscow and tehran that the time for inaction has passed saying that, listen, there's no way to put humpty dumpty back together. if you wanted assad to survive he can never restore rule and the only hope is a diplomatic solution or a rebel victory and then you try to induce some kind of a negotiated settlement with assad going into exile and you hope the russians will play ball once they realize that we are going to do whatever is needed to get rid of this guy. i think you have to construct a strategy that sends that message because right now, make no mistake. we're in a stalemate. >> what about the fact that the british and the french have been asking for the arms embargo to be lifted and yet there appears to be a european reluctance to engage, as well. it's all very well critiquing the american response as being somehow neutral and non-engaged, but the british and the french came to engage themselves
1:23 pm
either, are they? >> you're right. everyone can anticipate that if and when assad falls, there's the question of how do you create stability in syria and are we going down the path of another iraq or afghanistan, and you can understand the reluctance to have to consider putting an international stabilization force on the ground as part of a peace deal. my hope is that any such stabilization for us down the road will be primarily arab and would be more like the bosnian mission of the '90s than the iraq or afghanistan missions of the last ten years, but it's hard to be completely sure and i think people are looking down the road to see where that might go and that's the reasonable case for caution. right now what we're seeing is a sanctuary develop where increasingne increasingnessly, they can take root. that's no longer an acceptable status quo to me and we're actually watching video now,
1:24 pm
mike, at attacks at a mosque today and all of this is taking place in the week when we mark the tenth anniversary of the invasion of iraq and that experience does seem to be overshadowing almost every decision regardless of the state of chaos, the numbers of people who are being killed, but it seems to be overshadowing every decision that the administration makes in relation to foreign policy. >> well, i think that's true, and i understand. i'm sure you do, too. iraq has been so painful and so long and afghanistan the same and any kind of suggestion that we want to consider an operation that could lead to the possible need for western ground forces in syria probably makes people shiver. on the other hand, where are we headed right now? where we're headed for right now is syria being torn asunder and hundreds of thousands or millions of its people being pushed out of their homes and
1:25 pm
tens of thousands are dying. so we're being forced into a very tough set of choices, but i think we have to recognize that the current strategy has not worked. >> michael o'hanlon, thanks so much for your analysis. >> thank you. >> march madness starring michele bachmann. she's having quite a week. stay with us. >> we are also the ones who are paying for someone to walk the president's dog, paying for someone to walk the president's dog. now, why are we doing that when we can't even get a disabled veteran into the white house for a white house tour? it's not what you think.
1:26 pm
it's a phoenix with 4 wheels. it's a hawk with night vision goggles. it's marching to the beat of a different drum. and where beauty meets brains. it's big ideas with smaller footprints. and knowing there's always more in the world to see. it's the all-new lincoln mkz. but that doesn't mean i don't want to make money.stor. i love making money. i try to be smart with my investments. i also try to keep my costs down. what's your plan? ishares. low cost and tax efficient. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.
1:27 pm
are you flo? yes. is this the thing you gave my husband? well, yeah, yes. the "name your price" tool. you tell us the price you want to pay, and we give you a range of options to choose from. careful, though -- that kind of power can go to your head. that explains a lot. yo, buddy! i got this. gimme one, gimme one, gimme one! the power of the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. ...but he'd wait for her forever, for any reason, and would always be there with the biggest welcome home. for a love this strong, dawn only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein. ...to help keep rocky's body as strong as a love that never fades... if he ever lets her leave again. iams. keep love strong. 100% greek.
1:28 pm
100% mmm... wow, that is mmm... it's so mmm you might not believe it's a hundred calories. yoplait greek 100. it is so good. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ stay with us, the day's top lines and dylan rhatigan are coming up. there's nothing better than salon color,
1:29 pm
full of beautiful highlights and lowlights. that's why nice'n easy builds dimension into every shade. so here's a challenge: love the gorgeous dimension of nice'n easy or we'll pay for a salon color. take the salon challenge, from nice'n easy.
1:30 pm
1:31 pm
[ angry gibberish ] [ justin ] mulligan sir. mulligan. take a mulligan. i took something for my sinuses, but i still have this cough. [ male announcer ] truth is, a lot of sinus products don't treat cough. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ angry gibberish ] [ fake coughs ] sorry that was my fault sir. [ male announcer ] alka seltzer plus severe sinus. [ breathes deeply ] ♪ oh, what a relief it is! [ male announcer ] try alka seltzer plus severe sinus day and night for complete relief from your worst sinus symptoms.
1:32 pm
from cooks and crooks to my michele playing small ball. here are today's top lines. here, bo, here, bo. >> they might as well reject them. >> faux friendship photo-opes. >> judy on-christian tradition is under attack. >> do 500 dopey kids want to see something, let them pay for it. >> would you allow me to interview sarah palin. >> if everybody had guns then there would be fewer guns in the stores. >> do a real background check on everyone. >> lady liberty. >> will the federal government begin stealing our money? the far left cooks -- >> have you once or ever been a kook? are you a lunatic. >> i have not now nor have ever been any of those things. >> our message was weak. we weren't inclusive. >> way too many people believe
1:33 pm
republicans are anti-gay. >> marriage is the union of one man and one woman. >> anti-immigrant. >> unpoco spanglish. unpoco techs-american express. >> the face of the republican party needs to be the face of americans. >> they're being suckered. >> air balance -- >> air budget balance. >> do not have a debt crisis right now. >> we're literally on different planets. >> he's somewhere else in the solar system. >> repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children. >> michele bachmann is playing small ball. >> paying for someone to walk the president's dog. >> the fact that he has a dog walker which is not true. >> two words, not good. >> something else i could do to make these guys not paint horns on my head. >> i turn to my wife and said, whoa, we need leaders who respect the traditions of the country. >> just wondering if you were thinking about running for president.
1:34 pm
>> do you work for msnbc? >> she could. let's get right to our panel. we are joined by msnbc political analyst who is former communications director at the dnc and my colleague crystal ball, co-host of "the cycle." crystal, march madness, as you know, has broken out with michele bachmann is she's absolutely at the top of the bracket. >> is it just march, though, really. >> that's true. it's every day of the year. she once claimed that the hpv vaccine promoted mental retardation, and she actually suggested the affordable care act, as you saw will kill women and children. isn't it time that this woman was censored by the house or at least brought under some form of discipline for saying things that are utterly untrue, literally on a daily basis? >> well, i think that,
1:35 pm
fortunately, she has paid a price in terms of her own reputation and standing because she has such a history of repeatedly saying things that are just patently, blatantly, obviously false and offensive. it's like she is a conduit for all of the nonsense and conspiracy theorists that are out there on the right. she sees a headline and hears something from one person and it comes right out of her mouth without any sourcing and without anyec whiching, but it feels right to her so she just goes ahead and says it, and she has damaged her credibility which i find heartening. people see this time and time again and they don't realize you cannot trust a word that this woman is saying, and if she's saying it, it is probably wrong. >> that is correct. here is a latentry to the march madness bracket. a twitter fight has broken out between donald trump and michelle malkin. it started when the talking head
1:36 pm
accused mr. trump of curing socialized malkin and calling ms. malkin, mr. trump shot back. at least dummy is true and because this is donald trump. he then sent out another message calling ms. malkin stupid and ms. malkin writes back saying mr. trump doesn't like women he can't control. mr. trump expects women to be like beyonce and bow down. so, karen, isn't this the kind of positive outreach to women that the gop autopsy was recommending. >> absolutely. and it is the kind of big ideas and big thinking that conservatives, obviously donald trump was considering running for president. so these are the kind of big ideas that i guess we can expect from conservatives for over the next couple of years. >> yes. excellent. now, crystal, we did see reince priebus earlier today on "morning joe" and he was talking about re-branding the republican party and he said it's moving along great, yet on the very
1:37 pm
same day in north dakota, the republican-controlled state legislature has passed a so-called amendment which would virtually outlaw abortion in that state by defining life as starting at the point of conception. so is this a problem of rebranding? is that all it is? >> it's definitely not. >> we have the rebranding and then in north dakota, we have this. >> right, and we should point out. we should point out, it was a measure too extreme to be passed by voters in mississippi and that is one of the most pro-life states in the country and this is an extraordinarily extreme measure, and i just think the republicans don't know what to do. they really don't because on the one hand they see the demographics. they know they have to change, but they can't change in any substantive way because they'll upset parts of their base if they do. for example, on gay marriage, even as the country moves, 58%
1:38 pm
of americans now supporting gay marriage, in the republican base, still overwhelmingly against gay marriage and they're afraid of upsetting their base and they don't know how to substantively change and all we have to do is go back to this that we want to be inclusive and have better messaging and it's hollow, they haven't changed anything. >> go ahead. i sit on the board of pro-choice america and one of the things that is so important to remember is for women in this country, these issues go to sort of the very core of wloerhether or not trust us as equal human beings and we're talking about whether or not you trust a woman to make the fundamental decision about her own body or government should make that idea which you would think that idea is something that conservatives would agree the individual should make that decision and not the government. let's also remember in addition to krystal's point about personhood, this was the top issue concern for women voters in about 18 of the key
1:39 pm
battleground states. this over jobs, access to legal abortion. so i think the other piece of this that the conservative movement has to understand, they're behind the times not just in marriage equality that they are behind in terms of understanding the importance, again, for women to be able to make these decisions themselves, where we really are on that. >> to karen's point, krystal. it does feel as though the gop autopsy which began with great fanfare. >> right. >> has basically been reduced to cinders by the end of five days because the actions of republicans are what count and what we see is what we're observing. >> that's exactly right. reince priebus, in the press conference, announcing the autopsy was pushed to the policy shifts and let me be clear, the principles of the party remain the same. i'm paraphrasing and even in that moment he wanted to run away from anything that might be
1:40 pm
a shift in where the party has been historically. >> let's also remember that in general, the party leader doesn't really drive policy, right? again, look at what we were just talking about with regard to michele bachmann this is part of the problem on the policy perspective they were all over the place. >> reince priebus can't really control his party and we've seen that time and time again and there was a lot in that autopsy like trying to limit the number of debates and i can tell you in 2007. you can't tell candidates that they can't have a debate. >> there's no way you are stopping any of them. >> nor controlling the primary process, goode bless him if he can reign in the state parties and do it, and this is my counterpart used to talk about all of the time, that reining in that party is also a challenging thing to do. i would encourage mr. priebus to
1:41 pm
focus the fundamentals rather than the infrastructure with the pr move saying that we'll reach out to people, but we're not going to change our policy. >> thank you both so much. >> next, do it for edie, the love story behind one of the most watched supreme court decisions of the year. stay with us. ♪ ♪ when did you know that grandma was the one? when her sister dumped me. oh dad, you remember my friend alex? yeah. the one that had the work done... [ male announcer ] sometimes being too transparent can be a bad thing. this looks good! [ male announcer ] but not with the oscar mayer deli fresh clear pack. it's what you see is what you get food.
1:42 pm
[ male announcer ] but not with the oscar mayer deli fresh clear pack. ♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. love your passat! um. listen, gary. i bought the last one. nice try. says right here you can get one for $199 a month. you can't believe the lame-stream media, gary. they're all gone. maybe i'll get one. [ male announcer ] now everyone's going to want one.
1:43 pm
you can't have the same car as me, gary! i'm gettin' one. nope! [ male announcer ] volkswagen springtoberfest is here and there's no better time to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease one of four volkswagen models for under $200 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. i'm here in your home, having a pretty spectacular tuesday. ♪ but i don't notice the loose rug at the top of your stairs. and that's about to become an issue for me. ♪ and if you got the wrong home insurance coverage, my medical bills could get expensive. so get allstate. [ dennis ] good hands. good home. make sure you have the right home protection. talk to an allstate agent. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it.
1:44 pm
to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. >> people are already standing in line for a chance to hear next week's supreme court argument that could determine the fate of same-sex marriage. two cases are involved. one concerns california's proposition 8. the other, the united states versus windsor involves the defense of marriage act. it's actually about a love affair that began 50 years ago when edith windsor met thea
1:45 pm
entire. both highly educated they fell in love in a small bar in new york. they danced. th their dance continued through the decade each as thea contracted m.s. and edith took care of her. the couple left for canada where same-sex marriage was legal. for two years they were married. but when thea died this nation's laws did not recognize edith as thea's wife or beneficiary and so she was forced to pay hundreds of thousands in taxes that no straight couple will ever have to face. joining us now is victoria difrancesco sorto and msnbc latino and williams, an msnbc contributor. yeah, that's right. jimmy, i don't want to reduce a description of that beautiful relationship to the issue of taxes, but what is your view about how this will play out?
1:46 pm
will the supreme court find this particular section of the defense of marriage act unconstitutional? >> i think that they will, and you have to go back and look at two separate cases and justice kennedy and one was in lawrence and one was in texas. he sets up the language literally writes it into the case law and says, for all intents and purposes the due process clause must apply to all people. you cannot discriminate against people. he did not talk about marriage in that case, but he did write lawrence and he did write romer. he will probably write this next case and my guess is he will strike down roma and prop 8. the proof is in the pudding. it's there. let's be clear. what edith wanted was equal treatment not special treatment. gay marriage isn't a special right, it's an equal right. it struck down equal in the
1:47 pm
brown v. board case. we don't want separate, but equal. we just want equal, nothing more, nothing less. >> victoria, this week we had senator portman talking about changing his position in effect because a member of his family came out and that affected his view. is this, in a sense, a demographic movement that however much people may oppose is literally like a wave that will eventually sweep over? >> martin, earlier this week the pugh center came out with a poll showing that a third of people who are now in favor of gay marriage change their position. so they had previously been against it and now they're for it and what happens is when you get to know somebody on a personal level the stereo typical contexts start to fade away and you start to look at that person as who they are and you don't look at the stigma attacked to their group. rob portman, classic case and it's a textbook case of intergroup contact theory where
1:48 pm
the more contact you have, not just by saying i know somebody, i know the cousin of a friend or my gardener or my busboy is this, but my close friend, my son is of this other group and your anxiety of that unknown decreases and your empathy decreases and for me, the empathy is the key to see movement trickle up into the political sphere. >> jimmy, on matters of weight and significance, we often like to consult the great reince priebus and here's what he said on wednesday on the topic of same-sex marriage. >> i don't know what's going to happen in nine years, luke. i know what our principles are and i know our party believes that marriage is between one man and one woman and we also know that we have a party that will be inclusive. >> just so i can give you a translation because most people would be confused. no on same-sex marriage, and yes on people who disagree. it's as clear as can can be. >> the republicans. >> you're struggling to speak.
1:49 pm
i have never been speechless in my entire life. the republicans don't want me to have a kid. the republicans don't want me to have sex. republic republicans don't want me to have a marijuanairiage. just a tax paying job? i hate to break the news in the gop, not only are they behind the time, but stuck in the 19th century. >> republicans are for state's rights? what are we talking about? it's about bringing it to the states and, do oma is about federal government, get out of our business and get out of our bedrooms and let the states do it. so why are we not seeing the theory match up with the reality. >> there say double side to that and the other side of the state is this, would we have allowed mississippi in 1960 to determine the civil rights of african-americans? i think the answer is absolutely not. i don't want any state telling me yes or no. i want the federals telling them to say yes. >> thank you both. next, the new green giant. dylan ratigan gives back to the
1:50 pm
community and america's bravest. stay with us. [ male announcer ] rocky had no idea why dawn was gone for so long... ...but he'd wait for her forever, for any reason, and wod always be there with the biggest welcome home. for a love this strong, dawn only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein. ...to help keep rocky's body as strong as a love that never fades... if he ever lets her leave again. iams. keep love strong. bring your own lettuce. byol. and we'll dress it up with grilled chicken. crunchy veggies. fruits, dressings and crispy noodles. new lean cuisine salad additions. just byol. find us in frozen.
1:51 pm
earning loads of points. we'll leave that there. you got a weather balloon, with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. go. ♪ keep on going in this direction. take this bridge over here. there it is! [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] earn points with the citi thankyou card and redeem them for just about anything. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply.
1:52 pm
and redeem them for just about anything. kids are like sponges. they soak up everything. especially when it comes to what you say and do. so lead by example and respect others.
1:53 pm
you won't let prejudice into your home. the more you know. what would possess a "new york times" best-selling author and the anchor of a daily television program to walk away from all his apparent success? commit himself to working with military veterans on a plan to develop high-yield organic farming in well, you're about to hear the answer to that question from the man himself whom you may recognize in this photograph. yes, that is our friend and former colleague dylan ratigan working on a hydropontic farm in southern california that uses 90% less water yet somehow produces water three times as much food, and i am delighted to say that the man himself has come out from the sunshine of california and stoops to join me in the cold climes of new york.
1:54 pm
>> stoops, please. >> dylan, what do you bring? >> i bring a gesture of hospitality. i have one for myself, and of course, one for you. this is something, a version of something that we drink as often as we can out on the farm. it's called the kale hero smoothie and it's blended kale with apple juice and ginger. >> there's no alcohol. >> it will take years off your life. please, to your health. >> i feel as though i'm already 26. seriously -- >> you'll be 21 before the show is over. >> why did you leave new york and your career which, for all intents and purposes had reached a great height. you'd written a book that was on the new york times best-selling list and why did you leave that and go into organic farm. >> you know better than anybody that when i had the privilege to have this time slot and to be your colleague -- >> i apologize. i know it's sensitive -- >> you know, let's be honest --
1:55 pm
no. in the time that i had the privilege of working in abenvironment like this a lot of my time was spent advocating around the issues of joblessness and resource scarcity and resource mismanagement and ultimately really, what i saw as the failure in our political system and in our culture in general to correctly associate the problems that the country has, food systems, education, with the labor force that we have which i view as the apex of which being our returning combat veterans each one of which we've invested $1 million in active duty and when they come home weir not engaging them in a way like we're creating employment for them which seems like a charity, these are the people -- there's less than 1% for them and these are the people that are willing to do the things for america, martin that no one else
1:56 pm
is willing to do. >> you've always been concerned about eating well and organic food, but how did you come to be working with the military because we know, for example, that the employment rate at the moment is -- s 7.7%. >> 20%. >> among military vets it's 12% overall. why did you get involved with military? >> i think -- basically, two things. it was apparent to me that we needed a young, enthusiastic, easily organized workforce that could address the core issues in our communities and when you look at the available labor force in this country, there's no greater group of individuals than the military veterans who represent that description and because i had recognized that even in the previous, before i left msnbc i had started looking for individuals that fit that bill and one of the people that i was able to meet was a gentleman who was a marine sergeant and did three tours of combat in iraq including the second battle of fallujah which i recommend you look into the
1:57 pm
back ground of that battle as the most intense urban combat and since 1968 in vietnam and he had come back with his wife karen and initiated this farm which is this hydroponic organic farm and much as they learn their story are blown away by it now. i was blown away by it when they told it to me last spring, and when they invited me to come out and enroll myself with them and i understood they were already working with whole foods and they did already have a distribution channel set up. when i found out that whole foods was willing to give them a loan to help build this prototype farm incubator it was a no-brainer for me to say i'll take the money from greedy bastards and match whole foods and let's build the growing center to replicate that across the country. >> the other thing that you're doing is this isn't just an opportunity -- >> you're not drinking. >> i'll drink in a moment. but it's not just the fact that you're giving people employment, but you want them to share in some measure of any financial benefit that comes.
1:58 pm
these are wholly-owned subsidiaries. >> again. we use the word you very loosely. it's not just -- i am among many in this effort. i am an organizer, i'm an advocate and investor and a cheerleader, but to say that it's just me would be an insult to a lot of other people and not accurate, but i am among a group of people and yes, we believe we are conceiving an innovative financial model in which we will be able to catalyze and stand up these farms in a way that the investor receives an above-market return while putting ourselves in a position to return the vast majority of the equity and the farm to the veteran operator within five years of opening so that the investor is always invested in the next farm. in other words, if you want to make money in the fund you have to be opening more new farms and in the process you then leave behind your trail of incumbent farms that are the possession of the veteran operator themselves. >> that's a tremendous thing.
1:59 pm
dylan, it's great of you to come in. you look about 20 years younger. >> it's the green drink. kale hero. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, martin. we'll be right back. hey. they're coming. yeah. british. later. sorry. ok...four words... scarecrow in the wind... a baboon... monkey? hot stew saturday!? ronny: hey jimmy, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? jimmy: happier than paul revere with a cell phone. ronny: why not? anncr: get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. she was a picky eater. well now i'm her dietitian and last year, she wasn't eating so well. so i recommended boost complete nutritional drink

153 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on